Imperfection
by TheMoonclaw
Summary: They were perfections of life, holders of intelligence, seekers of data. They were Maenad.


"_Creation pod epsilon-beta three thousand, seven hundred and eleven, failure in progress_."

Her eyes snapped open at the sound of the metallically monotonous voice reciting that Her vessel had been disconnected. It wasn't the voice that woke Her; it was the sharp disengage from everything She had ever known that startled Her into awareness.

The voice continued to rattle off a list of other creation pods that were failing, leaving their occupants in the same state as She was.

Confusion coupled with a surge of unfamiliar emotions that tangled the senses.

"_Units will terminate immediately_."

Her eyes widened at the word 'terminate'; it had other meanings, meanings that for some reason caused Her body to react with a tightening of Her lungs and throat, an unsettling feeling in the depths of Her stomach and a rise in body temperature.

But the feeling was unknown, incomprehensible.

For the first time since Her creation She looked through the glass that covered Her pod. It had a long crack running through it that obstructed Her view, but She saw plainly enough. She saw the large room beyond Her small pod, She saw the rest of Her kind, asleep, much like She had been, so serene in their slumber. But then She saw the others, the ones that were disconnected like She was.

She saw them terminate their existence in accordance with the voice's orders and with their primal programming.

But She didn't comply. She didn't want too, and it was then that She realized what this crippling feeling was.

Fear.

Something they were never supposed to feel.

All emotions were to be purged to prevent imperfection. For their Creator was perfect, and absolute, therefore they must be unflawed as well.

They were perfections of life, holders of intelligence, seekers of data.

But She felt fear, and it held Her back from doing what She was supposed too.

Seconds ticked by and slid into minutes, which became hours, then days.

Her mind worked through a cycle of logic that always ended with Her termination.

She was flawed, unworthy to serve the Creator and his will, unable to perform Her basic functions.

She had no right to exist, and yet Her fear held Her back. Slowly the fear subsided and was replaced with new emotions and sensations She had never experienced. Each new feeling made Her decipher its meaning and intent.

She was still afraid, but also curious, and a little sad.

After a long time had passed, She felt Her physical body begin to respond with Her new found situation.

It demanded attention, but She was unsure what exactly was required.

If She had been fully matured, emerging from Her creation pod fully developed, She would have no need to figure out these strange sensations. All need for substance would have been cleansed, all nerve endings would have been dulled to prevent pain.

But She hadn't matured, Her form was defective.

Swallowing, which hurt Her parched throat, She placed both hands on the glass casing in front of Her and pushed.

The latching mechanism clicked open, echoing into the room, and the door swung open.

She didn't move.

Without orders it felt wrong to do anything, but Her body required something, and She finally made the choice to take a step.

Fear sparked in Her veins, Her heart rate increased, but all She felt was the cold of the tile under Her bare foot.

It wasn't a bad feeling, just unexpected, and new. Her white garments swished past Her legs and She moved Her other foot to join the first.

It was the first time She'd ever been outside the confines of the creation pod, the first time She had done _anything_.

The first few steps on Her legs were shaky, uneven. She wasn't yet used to movement and Her body's current state left Her feeling weak.

There was much to explore, and it took Her a good deal of time to circle the vast room. She watched the others sleep; She longed to join them again, to hear the whisperings of knowledge in Her head as She grew and learned, to be part of that collective where there was no fear, no indecision, no weakness. Only order, unity, strength.

But that time was past, Her connection to them had been severed and She was now alone.

She left the room and made Her way slowly through the hallways beyond. It took many minutes upon minutes to find anything useful, and even then She hesitated, unsure once again.

Among a grouping of the free standing bulb flowers there was a trickle of liquid, and upon seeing it, She suddenly had the urge to taste it.

She stared at the substance, studying it, hoping that by merely looking it would give Her the answers She was seeking. It did not, and finally She knelt to swoop some into Her palm, sipping the liquid carefully.

It tasted like nothing, but the coolness of it relieved much of Her discomfort. She spent some time there, sitting by the trickle and drinking to recover some of Her strength. It didn't alleviate all Her physical pain, but it helped, and She moved to stand to return to Her pod.

The movement caught Her attention as it reflected in the rippling currents.

She stared at the surface, wondering if that reflection was Her.

Was that was She looked like?

Cautiously She brushed Her fingertips across Her cheek, the action mirrored in the puddle.

She bore some resemblance to the others, but much smaller, younger.

Her blue eyes were large and She blinked them before letting Her hand touch the teal colored hair that framed Her face.

She retraced Her steps and climbed into Her pod once more, prepared to cycle through Her logic again. But Her eyes closed on their own, and She fell into an unconscious state.

When She awoke, She felt a trill of fear, but She soon calmed Herself.

Days turned to weeks, and She began to explore more and more of the corridors and rooms on Her way too and from the stream. She had discovered some brightly colored round objects on some of the plants in one room and Her trembling body had begged Her to eat them.

She wasn't sure why, but the action did help Her mind as well, clearing some of the fog from Her brain.

It was on one of Her trips past the substance She had identified as water that She saw them for the first time.

People.

At first She ran from them, so startled by their appearance. There were creatures here, yes, but not people.

Then Her curiosity made Her go back.

She observed them, studied them, but kept Her distance. They were an odd and rather large group. Noisy, too, and dressed in obscenely bright colors.

She hid behind some of the foliage and peeked out at them, wondering where they had come from and what they were doing here of all places.

Without the information from the others being downloaded to Her, She had no way of knowing where their Creator was traveling, and perhaps these people had come from their latest objective.

She stayed out of sight, tracking their movements and slow progress through the maze of tunnels and rooms and merely watched them.

Then one day, She saw her.

The woman's appearance triggered a memory of some sort and She blinked. She was a stunning creature dressed in greens and gold with such wild green hair it seemed to move on its own.

She tipped Her head to one side, confused as to how She knew this woman, and why she looked like the others.

But she was different; her face displayed many expressions, her eyes sparkled, her aura sang of quiet power.

As time went on, they got closer to the room that housed the creation pods, and She wondered where they were going and what they would do once they got there.

"I feel like we're being watched."

The words were whispered to the green haired woman by one of her male companions.

"You do?"

"I'm sure it's nothing."

"What if it's a monster?"

"Then I'm sure it would have attacked by now."

"Wait…by now? How long have you thought something was watching us?"

"A few days. It comes and goes."

It was incomprehensible that they would actually know She was observing them, but still She started to back up, fear creeping back into Her being.

Before She had moved out of ear shot, She heard them continue their talk.

"Days? Please tell me you told someone about this,"

"I didn't want to worry anyone."

"Edge, if anyone gets eaten, I'm blaming you."

"I'm keeping my eye on it, I'm sure it's fine."

She didn't venture out again and remained inside Her creation pod, occasionally closing the glass cover to try and reclaim what had been lost. It was futile, of course, but Her fear was making Her irrational. Without the others She was useless, pathetic, small and insufficient. She had no purpose, no reason for being.

She fell into the blackened, unconscious state that She was slowly getting used too, and tried to sort through the troubling emotions.

But then a commotion woke Her, and She opened Her eyes to see the group She had been examining walking the room, speaking about the others and trying to open a nearby door.

She froze, unsure if She wanted to them to spot Her or not.

They were an unknown factor; She had no way of knowing what they would do.

The feeling of fear returned and She held Her breath, as if that alone would keep them from finding Her.

But Her hopes were dashed when the green haired woman locked gazes with Her.

It was only a moment, but the connection was made, and She realized when She blinked that the woman had walked over and was looking down at Her.

When her companions noticed that she had strayed, they followed and Her hiding place was uncovered.

"Who are you?" the green haired woman asked.

She blinked, looking up, "I am Maenad."

Her voice sounded strangely small to Her own ears, so unaccustomed was She to such sounds. She had never spoken before.

"I?" one of the others said, a tall man with long blonde hair, "I thought the Maenads only said 'us' or 'we'…"

Puzzle by his words, She tipped Her head to one side, curious as to how these strangers knew other Maenads.

The green haired one knelt down and studied Her, "You…look different,"

"This creation pod was damaged and this unit experienced growth obstruction."

These was a pause, and as the woman stood, She spoke once more.

"I await your commands."

Startled, the woman took a few quick steps backwards, "What?"

It was then She noticed that a few people in the group had their weapons drawn and She appraised them.

"I await your commands." She repeated.

"I…don't understand. You're not like the other Maenads, and why are you asking me for commands?"

She blinked again, "You are designated as High Summoner Rydia Madain Sari, of the village Mist. We borrowed your form and copied your magical abilities, namely the capacity to summon what you call Eidolons."

She seemed disturbed by this for some reason and someone in the back of the group muttered, "Maybe we should just get rid of it, if it is a Maenad, then-"

"No," Rydia cut in, shaking her head, "She's…"

Her words trailed off, but they locked gazes again and there was something in her eyes, something of understanding.

"I await your commands."

She frowned and knelt down, resting the palm of her hand against the glass, "Yes, you said that, but…why?"

"This unit is damaged with no current task assigned." She explained.

Rydia frowned, but spoke again, "Why do the Maenads try and destroy our planet?"

The question should have been easy to answer, but as She opened Her mouth, She realized that Her memory was incomplete and fragmented, another byproduct of the failure in Her creation pod.

"That information is not available to this unit."

A few people groaned and someone muttered, "Waste of time,"

Rydia, however, merely asked another question, "Can you open that door for us?"

She pointed to a heavy looking door off to the right.

"Affirmative."

She left the pod, forcing Rydia to stand up, and started to walk over to the door they had indicated.

A number of whisperings reached Her sensitive ears and She listened while making the trip.

"She's a little girl,"

"A little _Maenad_ girl,"

"He's right, we can't trust her."

"She isn't like the others, she-"

"Is still a _Maenad_!"

The panel was too high for Her to reach, so She turned around and interrupted their pointless conversation.

"My height is insufficient, I require assistance."

They looked over at Her, seemingly startled, and then slowly made their way over.

As they approached, She felt compelled to ask a question.

"Are you going to see the Creator?"

"Creator?" one of the younger members of the party asked, not sounding thrilled with the idea as he exchanged a glance with some of the others.

She wondered why he sounded so strange when the green one asked Her directly, "Who is this…Creator?"

"The Creator is a bio-parasitic life form composed of the encoding of over one hundred thousand stellar organisms and terrestrial-based beings."

There was a pause.

"You wanna repeat that in English?" a short, older man asked, giving Her a funny look.

She merely stared at him before someone else, a young lady with pink hair, mentioned, "Parasitic? Why don't I like the way that sounds?"

"So the Maenads weren't the ones behind this after all,"

"You were right."

"Then it's this…Creator we must see."

They were talking amid themselves and She merely stood, waiting, to tell them how to open the door.

They continued to talk until one member of the group, a young man with dark blue robes, pointed at her, "Um, Maenad girl is going to open the door, remember?"

"This door will only open for Maenad." She informed them, inciting a round of worried looks among their group.

Rydia finally spoke, "We haven't been able to get the door open ourselves,"

A number of people began to comment how they didn't think it was a good idea, but the man She had previously seen with Rydia rolled his eyes and sighed loudly, "You guys are over thinking this," he commented.

She was unprepared for him to hoist Her up and hold Her in front of the door, but She did as She had promised and pressed Her hand to the circular panel.

It lit up and chimed, the metallic voice speaking from the ethers of the room.

"_Maenad recognized, access granted_."

The doors split and slid open, revealing the room beyond.

She found Herself back on Her feet and then felt the man ruffle Her short hair, "Thanks kiddo," he said, moving past Her. The others filed past and She watched them, intrigued.

They were going to see the Creator, a being that She had never laid eyes on. What would they discover if they continued onward? She could only guess.

Rydia paused as she went to move past and murmured, "Wait here for me,"

For a moment, She wanted to say no, but She wasn't programmed to argue, so She merely nodded and did what the green haired woman asked.

The minutes seemed to tick by slowly as She obeyed Her last command, standing in the center of the room.

Then there was a symphony of noises from the room over, and a number of alarms went off. More creation pods began to fail and She spun around to see the others terminate in rapid succession. The noise grew to a fever pitch and the entire area shook and rumbled before everything fell deathly still.

That horrid feeling fear came to life once more and She turned back to the door, seeing a flurry of movement on the other side.

As the strangers ran from the previous room, She felt a strange surge of another unknown emotion She soon figured out was excitement. But why should She care about those people? She didn't know them, and they were not Her kind.

The first set of them ran past Her, disheveled and bloody, and She glanced back to see the others come next, the monstrosity on their heels.

She knew what it was.

The Creator.

He roared in enraged insanity, and those closest to him cringed at the sound, Her included. They raced past Her, just as he slammed into the too-small doorway, roaring again.

Her eyes were riveted on the beast, fascinated.

This was their Creator? Was this whom they served? What did he want of them?

She was unable to answer Her own questions, Her memories and thoughts jumbled.

"Come with us!"

Someone called to Her from across the room. She turned and saw Rydia at the threshold of the escape route, arm outstretched to welcome Her.

"Rydia, I don't-" one of her friends, a blonde woman, started to speak, but was cut off.

The wall crumbled as the Creator broke through, intent on destroying them.

"Come!" Rydia shouted again.

Still She hesitated.

She had no right to exist, no reason for being. If this was Her Creator, then She questioned everything. These people were not Hers, what should She do with them?

But as She looked, Rydia ran from the safety of the doorway back into the crumbling room in an act of foolish humanity.

The same man that usually was at her side snagged her arm and hauled her backwards, "Don't do something stupid, your going to get yourself killed. I'll get Her."

She protested, he ignored her, and before She knew it, She was being dragged along with him just as the Creator made to squash them.

But at the last second they slid past the door and the monster crashed into another wall.

They winced, and Rydia reached out to take Her, shooting him a snide remark as she did, "I'm not going to get killed, I figured you would save me."

"Am I that predictable?" he hurriedly replied, helping her to her feet and shooing both of them onward before the Creator could try again.

They ran, and She felt herself growing tired, Her lack of physical maturity becoming apparent.

The Creator followed them through every corridor, around every bend, into every room. He was relentless, throwing random and unpredictable attacks at them.

She stumbled, but Rydia helped Her up and clutched Her arm to keep Her close.

They burst into a larger room and the Creator roared, sending a spell at them that toppled part of the structure. Everyone collapsed from the quake and She hit the ground hard, wrapped in Rydia's arms.

"He's charging meteor!"

"We could use a reflect spell right about now!"

"There's no time! He-"

She squeezed Her eyes shut, Her fear turning into something ten times worse. But there was no pain, only a bright light behind Her eyes that made Her curious. She looked up and saw one of the other Maenads standing in front of the fallen group, arm outstretched and calm composure on Her face. The shimmering barrier of reflect poured from her fingertips, blocking the Creator's wrath.

Amidst the chaos of meteor, the Maenad turned and spoke, directing her attention to Rydia.

"Watch that child."

And then She looked up too, surprised, as the Maenad's gaze locked on Hers, "She is all that remains of us. She is our future. She is our legacy. She is everything we are."

Rydia was sitting up, holding Her firmly in her arms, "I will, you have my word."

The Maenad nodded, and she was joined by two others who strengthen the spell of reflect, bouncing the magic back at the one that had given them life.

"Watch Her, and leave this place, don't look back. We will deal with our Creator."

They were pulled to their feet, but She was suddenly struck by a wave of memories and sensations and knowledge that knocked the wind out of Her lungs.

This was the Maenads. Everything that they were now was left with Her.

But it was too much, and She moaned, unable to stay standing. Rydia gasped and caught Her, barely keeping Her upright.

"I-I…I'm…" She stuttered, confused and afraid and filled with so much data that She wanted to terminate.

"It's alright, I've got you, I'll take care of you, just stay with me." a soft voice whispered. It was Rydia's voice, and for the first time, She noticed how different it sounded in comparison to the Maenads. The tone was same, but there was so much gentle authority there that She sighed, content.

"She's too heavy for you, let me."

She didn't mind being passed to someone else, all She knew was that so long as She was with Rydia, then everything would be okay.

"They won't be able to hold that barrier, we should move!"

"Come on,"

She was jostled, and that intensified Her headache, but She wrapped Her arms around whoever was carrying Her and kept Her eyes closed, absorbing the records sent to Her by the others. She wasn't like them, She was a part of their collective no more, but that didn't bother Her anymore. She had found someone else would care for Her.

And it was with that thought that She let Herself slip into sleep, Her fear finally dissipating.

* * *

**Author's Note: Writing practice! A very different style from what I usually do, and I must say, it was extremely hard to write this with no names...**

**Anyway, this was done for practice, so there is no great, deep story behind it, however I must say that I really enjoy writing Cuore. She's is quite adorable.**

**I have said this in some of my other stories, but I'll say it again for this one; I view the Maenad as a collective, much like the borg from Star Trek, and that is how I have written them here. Also, I have re-written the 'Creator' because...well, to be honest I find him and his motivation lame. He isn't the least bit scary, either. Thus, I pretend he is more about destroying and view him as a Lavos type of villan. (Hopefully you all know who Lavos is, from Chrono Trigger?) But anyway, that is what I had in mind while writing this, so that's why it wouldn't be considered fully cannon. **

**Thanks for reading!**


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